Psychology Reflection Paper

﻿I have always been fascinated with how the human brain works. How is it possible for humans to remember so many things and be able to retrieve that information when needed days or even years later? Prior to taking psych 100, I always thought that psychology was strictly related to emotions and behaviors. I never thought that it had anything to do with how we store and retrieve information. Nor did I consider that maps and pictures we formulate in our heads had anything to do with our memory.

I’ve always thought it was pretty amazing that I can walk thru my house in complete darkness without hitting anything. There have been nights where I awake in complete darkness and somehow manage to find my way to the kitchen for a cold glass of water. Until recently I never knew that there was such a thing as a cognitive map. I just simply thought that I didn’t hit my face on the wall because I knew my way around my house.

To give a better understanding of what a cognitive map is and how we all make use of it in our daily life, there are multiple routes that we personally choose to take to work. I myself have a mental picture of the specific streets, freeways, stores, restaurants and gas stations that are associated with each route I take. More than often I get to work and think “wait, I’m here already?” Although it is scary to admit, our cognitive maps functions much like autopilot. Because we drive to work on a daily basis our brain has memorized the each curve, stop, and all the landmarks along each route we take. Thus making driving to work seem like second nature.

All in all I now know that my ability to maneuver through my house with my eyes closed and get to work without remembering how exactly I got there, are both made possible by cognitive maps I have formed from mental images stored in my memory. Thanks to psych 100 my fascination with the human brain continues, only now I have a better understanding of its inner workings.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

...
ReflectionPaper
Li Jian
B11010198
U Hon Kun
B1101305
Yeap Heng Tat
B1103203
Department of Psychology
PSY 312
Mr. Eric Bryan Amaladas
Social Problems and Human Rights
An increasing number of social problems can be seen in our country. In the lecture, our guest speaker mentioned several social problems such as unemployment, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, child abuse and bullying. These social problems have a lot of negative effects to our youth and they will also affect the development of our society and country. Thus, more attention and efforts should be paid to control and solve these problems in order to prevent it increasing continuously.
Firstly, it can be easily founded in our newspaper that there is a high rate of unemployment among graduates in Malaysia. According to The Star Newspaper (Ji, 2013), there are about 40% of public university graduates are unemployed or stuck in mismatched occupations. Particularly, a survey which conducted in 2011 found that there were around 25% of graduates being jobless in the past six months. This news has been proved by Education Ministry official, Dr. Mohd Azlan Yahya. He mentioned that this phenomenon may be caused by the graduates have less practical experiences which may not be supplied by their education. Furthermore, he also said that the lack of language proficiency in English may be one of the reasons. Graduates may not have sufficient knowledge and...

...Self-Reflection Related to Influential Psychology Theories
When psychologists were first acknowledged they began studying behaviors and biological processes. There are numerous recognized psychologists that have contributed to the seven major perspectives of today’s modern psychology. These theories include: Evolutionary theory, sociocultural theory, biopsychological theory, psychoanalytic theory, cognitivism, humanistic theory and behaviorism. The three theories that I would like to describe, analyze and reflect upon are the behaviorism, cognitivism and psychoanalytic.
The term “behaviorism” developed from the renowned behavioral psychologist named
John B. Watson (Molm, 2005). Many influential theorists became associated with behaviorism including: Ivan Pavlov, Edward Throndike, William James and B.F Skinner. Ivan Pavlov studied behaviorism through learning which scientifically was called conditioning (Younger, Vanson, & Huffman, 2010). Edward Throndike “determined that the frequency of a behavior is modified by its consequences” (Younger, Vanson, & Huffman, 2010, p.157.) William James expanded and broadened psychology by incorporating animal behaviors along with human behaviors into his studies. B.F Skinner became interested in the behavioristic approach and ended up being one of behaviourisms biggest advocate (The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2001). His version of behavioral...

...Reflections
-------------------------------------------------
Psychology 121
REFLECTIONS:
Whenever I hear the term psychology the first thing that comes to my mind is behavior. We as humans have so many different types of behaviors that can affect our everyday lives in either a negative or positive way. Throughout this course of psychology there are 3 topics that really stood out to me. I’m going to answer the following questions in this review.
1. Are there effective forms of memory?
2. Can you slow the negatives of human development?
3. How important is motivation?
Are there effective forms of memory?
Memory is used throughout our daily lives whether in a personal environment or work environment. Memory is very essential to our daily functions the textbook states, ”Without it, you wouldn’t know how to shut off your alarm, take a shower, get dressed, recognize objects, or communicate”(Bernstein, 2010, p. 210). Elaborative rehearsal is a form of memory that I think will be very beneficial to me throughout my lifetime. My method of memory consisted of maintenance rehearsal and consistently writhing things down thinking that was the most proficient way to memorize things. Using the Elaborative rehearsal method I can take new information and related to things I’m already familiar with. For example I’m a really big sports fan so I’ve learned how to use various sports topics...

...﻿
Cognitive Psychology
Angela M. Beal
PSY 360
10/20/2014
Professor Kasey Macnair
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Psychology is the study of the mental processing, which can include thinking, problem solving, believing, speaking, decision-making, and learning. To summarize it is the study of the mind and how the mind functions in daily life and situations. In our daily life cognitive Psychology is always being used in order to stimulate some sort of action that is needed. There are many milestones that have been developed in relation to Cognitive Psychology.
One is Neuroscience, which examines the brain and how it interacts with the nervous system in determining behaviors. Behavioral Neuroscience began in the late 18th and 19th century as different forms of philosophical behavioral psychology. In philosophy, many people gathered evidence that would explain animal and human behavior. It usually investigates different brain functionalities and chemicals and how it ties in with abnormal human behavior as well as the mind. The research allows an understanding of different states that include consciousness, sensory experiences, emotion, motivation, development through life spans, and psychological, and physical health.
Another is criticism, which is a form of behavior observations that will give cognitive psychologists a way to test and evaluate different theories about behaviors as well...

...﻿
PSYC 3360.1WW
Professor Stewart Downing
August 12, 2013
Athletes are under a lot of pressure to excel and become perfectionists and invincible at the sports they play, however sometimes during competition elite athletes react physically and somatically which can adversely affect their performance.
G. Jones definition of stress and anxiety. “Stress is a state that results from the demands that are places on the individual which require that person to engage in some coping behavior. Anxiety results when the individual doubts her or her ability to cope with the situation that causes him or her stress.”
Abel Gemeda a high school quarter back football player at Saint John A, in Halifax Nova Scotia feels like everyone is watching his every move, he feels the sweat running down his whole body and he hasn’t even started running yet. His body tenses up, he starts thinking ahead on his actions but his body is failing him, everything he did so easily in practice is now looking and feeling like such a challenge, he jumps to catch the ball but it slips right off his hand, he tries harder but the game is lost.
Abel has been playing football ever since he could hold a ball, and he was a natural his throws were precise, strong and accurate. Recently knowing that he is a senior and that scouts were coming to seek him from elite universities his nerves started getting the best of him.
To any sports person, the debilitative effects of high anxiety are only...

...﻿Examination of Clinical PsychologyPaper
Jamie Rucker
PSY-480
Mon. May 25, 2015
Dr. William Philadelphia
Examination of Clinical PsychologyPaper
Introduction
Understanding the world of clinical psychology, the path and journey endures complex dedications. To precisely express its description and functions, a deeper look into the history and evolving nature must be discussed. Clinical psychology is considered the most prevalent specialty area within psychology according to Plante (2011), with the “majority of psychology doctorates being awarded in clinical psychology” (p. 5). Plante (2011) expresses the focuses of what surrounds the definition of clinical psychology with noting assessments, and treatments stating “clinical psychology focuses its efforts on the ways in which the human psyche interacts with physical, emotional, and social aspects of health and dysfunction” (p. 5). Given this knowledge, clinical psychology presents a vast history of evolving nature. The evolving nature of clinical psychology in recent times portrays a movement where influences and interests conquest to better mental health. Research and statistics embraces a significant role amid the field of clinical psychology. Given the diversity and complexity of the field, Vallis & Howes (1996) states “a...

...﻿
Psychology and Christianity: Initial Integration Paper
Azusa Pacific University
Psychology and Christianity: Initial Integration PaperPsychology and Christianity: two subjects that have seem to become almost impossible to talk about hand in hand. Psychology has become one completely different subject than Christianity (theology) and both have lost all contact with the other. Psychology is strictly a science and Christianity is solely based on faith and religion and the two can not be integrated together. The real question is why? Why can’t psychology and Christianity be integrated and used together as one? This paper will give some dictionary definitions of both subjects, will provide definitions based on the authors opinion, and will discuss the authors viewpoint on the integration of the two.
The American Heritage dictionary defines psychology as “the science that deals with mental processes and behavior” (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000) and defines Christianity as “the Christian religion, founded on the life and teachings of Jesus” (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000). As you could see, both definitions used the words science and religion placing both subjects in their own categories. In modern days, religion and science can not be compared but rather contrasted. The...

...﻿
Social Psychology Definition Paper
PSY 400
Tara Young
Social psychology is very interesting and impacts the world in different ways. Of course one must be social in order to survive in the world today. Some like to know what makes one operate and why they do certain things. So let’s talk about a few of those things like how is social psychology different from other things like sociology, anthropology and psychology as a whole.
What is Social Psychology?
According to class readings social psychology is the study of social thinking, influence as well as relations (Myers, 2010). When you think about social influence it is how others words and actions reflect on our thoughts and how we feel or our attitude towards somethings. That means how one act depends on how other people treat them which in turn determines how they act and sometimes even assume how others feel about them.
No matter what one may think every person is in some way influenced by what other people think or even what they may say about them. Because of how individual process thoughts and just because most times people are always wondering how others feel or what they think about them it affects how they interact socially. Think about peer pressure which in essence is a type of persuasion as to a person trying to change one’s mind about a thing to go the way they want it to (Myers, 2010). Television is...